Known adsorber installations have the disadvantage of a comparatively unadaptable and therefore expensive mode of tank construction. To enable similar tank elements to be combined to form a larger unit, the tank has been constructed as a horizontal circular cylinder which can be adapted to the capacity required in each case by joining together cylinder sections. In the case however, due to the arrangement of the three tank chambers, each individual cylinder element is provided with a separate inlet and outlet and must be connected by an appropriate pipe system adapted to the particular overall arrangement. Furthermore, this known arrangement has the disadvantage of occupying a large floor surface and the disadvantageous horizontal position of the active charcoal chamber. (German Offenlegungsschrift No. 2,216,672).
In order to permit a uniform and simple method of charging the active charcoal chamber, the active charcoal chamber has been made shaft-shaped with charging through a roof aperture and discharging through a lateral discharge aperture arranged directly above the base of the shaft. But in this case the inlet and outlet chambers are constructed in such a way that an increase in capacity can only be achieved by the use of further similar adsorbers or of a correspondingly larger type of adsorber.
The invention aims at producing an apparatus of the foregoing type which makes it possible with simple means to permit an adaptation to the conditions existing in each case or to varying desiderata, more particularly as regards the capacity of the installation.